The present invention relates to lymph node detection in magnetic resonance (MR) sequences, and more particularly, to automated lymph node detection using multiple MR sequences.
Humans have approximately 500-600 lymph nodes, which are important components of the lymphatic system. Lymph nodes act as filters to collect and destroy cancer cells, bacteria, and viruses. Radiologists examine the lymphatic system for cancer staging (i.e., diagnosing the extent or severity of a patient's cancer) and evaluation of patient progress in response to treatment. Accordingly, accurate localization and staging of metastatic lymph nodes are essential to the early detection and appropriate treatment of cancer.
Compared with the traditional procedure of lymph node dissection, non-invasive MR imaging based diagnosis and staging methods have far less complications and side effects, and can avoid unnecessary surgery. However, a single MR sequence may lack sufficient diagnostic information for lymph node localization. Accurate diagnosis may require multiple complementary MR sequences, which makes manual detection of lymph nodes vary labor intensive and tedious. Small lymph nodes are often missed in manual detection, even by highly-trained radiologists. Accordingly, computer assistance is desirable to assist with lymph node detection.